Nothing tells a player more about his place on his team than the location of his locker in spring training. When you are assigned two lockers, you’re a really big deal. When you score a corner, you’re still a big shot. When you’re assigned a temporary locker, you probably shouldn’t make yourself too comfortable.

Aware of this hierarchy, Boston Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks knew this spring would be different as soon as he spotted his stall at Fenway South.

Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks appears to have escaped an injury early in spring training. (AP Photo)

“I wasn’t down there by the saloon doors worrying about getting smacked,” Middlebrooks says.

The swinging doors to which he refers are located at an end of the Red Sox clubhouse, in a cramped area reserved for minor leaguers. This spring, Middlebrooks has been transferred toward the middle of the room and is dressing alongside veterans such as Stephen Drew and Shane Victorino.

“This is a confidence builder for sure,” he says.

Atlanta Braves lefthander Mike Minor was similarly stoked when he reported to Champion Field, where the Braves’ clubhouse is split into two areas by a row of lockers. Minor no longer would be slumming on the minor league side but in the spacious (by comparison) quarters for the big leaguers.

“You don’t want to be on the other side of the room,” Minor says.

New locker locations aren’t all that bind Middlebrooks, 24, and Minor, 25, this spring. Although they play different positions and in different leagues, both begin 2013 with secured jobs and heightened expectations. They performed well enough last season to earn their promotions, but neither did enough to ensure his status is permanent.

Middlebrooks arrived with a blast in early May, hitting a grand slam in his third game and enjoying a two-homer night in his fourth. After 40 games, he was hitting .331 and had given the Red Sox enough reason to trade Kevin Youkilis.

Middlebrooks did nothing to make the Red Sox regret the decision, but his season still ended in disappointment when a 95-mph fastball broke his right wrist on Aug. 10.

He wouldn’t play again but, after being taken under the wing of David Ortiz, Middlebrooks found a way to get something from the rest of the season.

“Papi was hurt too, unfortunately, and I was able to sit beside him every game and pick apart the game,” Middlebrooks says. “I watched a lot of video with him learning pitchers’ tendencies and strengths and weaknesses. There’s some things I have put in my back pocket.”

Even though there is another month of exhibitions, Middlebrooks knows he needs to return quickly.

“I haven’t played three or four years. I’ve played 75 games,” he says. “I’m still proving myself.”

Minor won his spot in the rotation last spring but pitched so poorly in May (9.95 ERA, 1.895 WHIP in five starts) that the Braves considered sending him to the minors. Their patience was rewarded, however, when Minor delivered a 2.16 ERA in 14 starts after the All-Star break. While teammate Kris Medlen was making headlines for a record stretch of starts, Minor actually led the Braves after August with a 0.87 ERA.

“He just kept getting better,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez says. “I don’t know if there’s a magic number of starts where you say, ‘OK, he’s got it.’ But you saw a guy that got better by going out there and going out there.”

With his spot in the rotation already claimed, Minor can go about his spring training much differently.

“Before, you feel like if you mess up a drill, they might take that and use it against you,” Minor says. “This year I have more of a vision of where I’m heading. I can concentrate on getting my work and not feeling that pressure.”

And when his work is complete, like Middlebrooks, Minor can kick back and enjoy his improved digs in the clubhouse.